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Newton's Law of Cooling Model
written by Wolfgang Christian
The Newton's Law of Cooling model computes the temperature of an object of mass M as it is heated by a flame and cooled by the surrounding medium.  The model assumes that the temperature T within the object is uniform.  This lumped system approximation is valid if the rate of thermal energy transfer within the object is faster than the rate of thermal energy transfer at the surface.  Users can select the mass or volume of the object and the type of material, and the model computes the temperature as a function of time. The model plots this temperature as a function of time as the user heats and cools the object.  It is a supplemental simulation for an article by William Dittrich in The Physics Teacher (TPT).  

The sphere heats and cools by exchanging thermal energy with the surrounding fluid by convection and this energy exchange is proportional to the difference between the sphere's surface temperature Ts and the temperature of the fluid Tf.  Inside the sphere the thermal energy is transported by diffusion.   The temperature inside is uniform if thermal energy transfer within the sphere is faster than thermal energy transfer at the surface.

The simulation shows how a temperature gradient appears if the heat transfer coefficient or the transfer coefficient are large.  The Heating and Cooling a Sphere model allows users to select copper, aluminum, and iron material properties and to set the sphere's radius and its heat transfer coefficient to observe these effects.

The Heating and Cooling a Sphere model was created using the Easy Java Simulations (EJS) modeling tool.  It is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive.  Double clicking the ejs_heat_HeatingAndCoolingSphere.jar file will run the program if Java is installed.

Please note that this resource requires at least version 1.5 of Java.
4 supplemental documents are available
2 source code documents are available
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Mathematical Tools
- Differential Equations
Thermo & Stat Mech
- Thermal Properties of Matter
= Temperature
= Thermometry
- Upper Undergraduate
- High School
- Lower Undergraduate
- Instructional Material
= Interactive Simulation
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Learners
- Educators
- application/java
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Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a GNU General Public License Version 3 license. Additional information is available.
Rights Holder:
Wolfgang Christian
Keywords:
EJS, cooling, heat simulation, heating, specific heat, thermodynamics simulation
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created June 5, 2010 by Wolfgang Christian
Record Updated:
January 15, 2019 by wee lookang
Last Update
when Cataloged:
June 5, 2010
Other Collections:

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4D. The Structure of Matter
  • 3-5: 4D/E1a. Heating and cooling can cause changes in the properties of materials, but not all materials respond the same way to being heated and cooled.
4E. Energy Transformations
  • 3-5: 4E/E2a. When warmer things are put with cooler ones, the warmer things get cooler and the cooler things get warmer until they all are the same temperature.
  • 3-5: 4E/E2b. When warmer things are put with cooler ones, heat is transferred from the warmer ones to the cooler ones.
  • 3-5: 4E/E2c. A warmer object can warm a cooler one by contact or at a distance.
  • 6-8: 4E/M2. Energy can be transferred from one system to another (or from a system to its environment) in different ways: 1) thermally, when a warmer object is in contact with a cooler one; 2) mechanically, when two objects push or pull on each other over a distance; 3) electrically, when an electrical source such as a battery or generator is connected in a complete circuit to an electrical device; or 4) by electromagnetic waves.

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (1993 Version)

4. THE PHYSICAL SETTING

E. Energy Transformations
  • 4E (3-5) #2.  When warmer things are put with cooler ones, the warm ones lose heat and the cool ones gain it until they are all at the same temperature. A warmer object can warm a cooler one by contact or at a distance.
  • 4E (9-12) #3.  Transformations of energy usually produce some energy in the form of heat, which spreads around by radiation or conduction into cooler places. Although just as much total energy remains, its being spread out more evenly means less can be done with it.

NSES Content Standards

Con.B: Physical Science
  • K-4: Light, Heat, Electricity, Magnetism
  • 5-8: Transfer of Energy
ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link
AIP Format
W. Christian, Computer Program NEWTON'S LAW OF COOLING MODEL, Version 1.0 (2010), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10071&DocID=1667).
AJP/PRST-PER
W. Christian, Computer Program NEWTON'S LAW OF COOLING MODEL, Version 1.0 (2010), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10071&DocID=1667>.
APA Format
Christian, W. (2010). Newton's Law of Cooling Model (Version 1.0) [Computer software]. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10071&DocID=1667
Chicago Format
Christian, Wolfgang. "Newton's Law of Cooling Model." Version 1.0. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10071&DocID=1667 (accessed 28 March 2024).
MLA Format
Christian, Wolfgang. Newton's Law of Cooling Model. Vers. 1.0. Computer software. 2010. Java 1.5. 28 Mar. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10071&DocID=1667>.
BibTeX Export Format
@misc{ Author = "Wolfgang Christian", Title = {Newton's Law of Cooling Model}, Month = {June}, Year = {2010} }
Refer Export Format

%A Wolfgang Christian %T Newton's Law of Cooling Model %D June 5, 2010 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10071&DocID=1667 %O 1.0 %O application/java

EndNote Export Format

%0 Computer Program %A Christian, Wolfgang %D June 5, 2010 %T Newton's Law of Cooling Model %7 1.0 %8 June 5, 2010 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10071&DocID=1667


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Newton's Law of Cooling Model:

Is Based On Easy Java Simulations Modeling and Authoring Tool

The Easy Java Simulations Modeling and Authoring Tool is needed to explore the computational model used in the Newton's Law of Cooling Model.

relation by Wolfgang Christian
Is a Teaching Guide For Physics Classroom: What Does Heat Do?

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